Dave McReynolds Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 Responding to Tim's post on a national speed limit got me to thinking about premium gas, which we need in our premium motorcycles. I would assume there will be less demand for this as people switch to compact cars, and I wouldn't think there are enough premium motorcycles to justify keeping it available. I wonder how long it will be available? If it becomes scarce or unavailable, I wonder if there is any way to convert our premium motorcycles to run acceptably on regular gas? Link to comment
smiller Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 Many higher-performance (and reasonably fuel efficient) compact cars use premium fuel too and I think it will be available for a long time to come. And even if it comes to it most newer BMW motorcycles use knock sensors so they can be run on regular with no problems, albeit at a slightly lower performance level. And most older bikes should be able to tolerate regular fuel with a tweak of ignition timing. Link to comment
David Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 Many new cars require premium or the warranty is void. It'll be available for decades, although maybe expensive. Link to comment
Joe Frickin' Friday Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 Many new cars require premium or the warranty is void. It'll be available for decades, although maybe expensive. I thought knock sensors were standard; that would eliminate a requirement for premium fuel, although that will still deliver the best performance. That said, yes, I think a lot of new cars are optimized for (and recommend the use of) premium fuel. Tweaking a vehicle to run well on non-premo fuel isn't too hard. A thicker head gasket to reduce the compression ratio is probably the easiest thing. Spark timing can also be altered by reprogramming the ECU. If premo becomes truly scarce the aftermarket can be expected to provide these things for popular vehicle models. For off-road use only, of course. Link to comment
keithb Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 I don't think premium is going anywhere considering gas stations are charging .10 more for mid grade and .20 more for premium grade. It's called dollars and sense. Link to comment
rob1100r Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 It may depend on how long manufactures make vehicles that require it, and how long are they still on the road..? Leaded fuel was available in the USA until some time in the 80's, after '74 with the advent of the Cat Converter, about a 10 year absence of cars being made without them, leaded was no longer available, and if you really wanted lead you had to grab a can of Real-lead...it wasn't cheap either! I guess if they do away with higher octane/premium and you need it, you will need octane additive, costly! My dad's 'Hemi' 300C is designed to run on 89 octane, nothing higher according to the manual...Sorry for the 'run on' people Link to comment
motoguy128 Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 Actually, Premium has comparatively come down in price compared to regualar unleaded. I suspect demand has dropped a little. The comparative price is such that the extra cost of premium is offset by the increased mileage the bike seems to get. You might however, see 91 octane more commonly than 92 or 93 octane. Link to comment
ShovelStrokeEd Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 My Blackbird gets about 2 more mpg on the highway running premium compared to regular even though Honda says I only need 87 octane. Now, I'm over 75K miles on this bike and I suspect it may be more than a little carboned up and the knock sensor is coming further into play. At $0.20/gal difference that would make premium a bargain for me, I think. Be right back while I run the numbers. Yup, I save a whopping $0.10/100 miles, or about $3.50 on one of my typical work trips. Link to comment
baggerchris Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 As I recall, this same thing happened way back in I think 73-74. Premium gas got eliminated from some of the smaller stations, usually out in B F Egypt somewhere. When I was living in the Navajo Nation, it was sometimes very hard to get, but my Electra Glide made do. Anyway, now the little Ma and Pa station here in Mountain Ranch no longer carries it, and I expect this trend to continue, especially in some of the outer areas I frequent. Link to comment
motoguy128 Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 If the remote placse don't have it...I guess I learn to appreciate the 300 mile range of the RT even more. Sometimes you have no choice... then the flexiblity of the ECU is nice ot have. Link to comment
Quinn Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 So, do we all end up carrying a bottle of octane booster for emergency use? Link to comment
Dave McReynolds Posted July 10, 2008 Author Share Posted July 10, 2008 So, do we all end up carrying a bottle of octane booster for emergency use? Well, it's just like riding into Utah, which I couldn't imagine doing without carrying a personal bottle of single-malt octane booster with me, since the liquor stores are so d**n hard to find. Just don't confuse the two bottles.... Link to comment
Mike Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 Actually, I worry less about premium than I do about the availability of gasoline in any form. It seems inevitable that, at some point, some new energy source will become the predominant fuel for highway vehicles. When that happens, how long will the gas stations survive? Link to comment
russell_bynum Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 Actually, I worry less about premium than I do about the availability of gasoline in any form. It seems inevitable that, at some point, some new energy source will become the predominant fuel for highway vehicles. When that happens, how long will the gas stations survive? As long as there is supply and demand. Link to comment
smiller Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 As long as there is supply and demand. Yep, and given the enormous number of gasoline-powered vehicles in existence I would expect that time period to last at least through our lifetimes. Link to comment
Marty Hill Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 All gas delivery is to be discontinued on 1 august all over the world. The sky will then fall within 24 hours. Link to comment
Quinn Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 All gas delivery is to be discontinued on 1 august all over the world. The sky will then fall within 24 hours. No more mortgage, no more car payments, no taxes. Shoot, it ain't all bad. Link to comment
upflying Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 I'm running el cheapo regular in my 2003 HD in 104 degree heat without problems. Much of our future gas will probably be mixed with some bio-fuel of some sort. Ethanol is in at least 10% of our fuel now and that raises the octane. Run E85 and there is no need for premium gas. Link to comment
motoguy128 Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 I'm running el cheapo regular in my 2003 HD in 104 degree heat without problems. Much of our future gas will probably be mixed with some bio-fuel of some sort. Ethanol is in at least 10% of our fuel now and that raises the octane. Run E85 and there is no need for premium gas. ...IF you don't mind cutting your range. Ethanol has less energy contect per volume. I hear the ideal ratio is more like E30 or E50. You also need to upgrade some components in the fuel system and well as potentially add higher flow fuel injectors. Until Ethanol is decoupled from the food supply, it's a losing battle. Every dollar you save in gasoline, cost you $2 or more in food. Even then, you have the large amount of energy required to produce it. The net energy yields are very low... les than 30%. Link to comment
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